Richard Kidder Meade (July 14, 1746 – February 9, 1805) was an American army officer from

Nansemond County, Virginia Nansemond is an extinct jurisdiction that was located south of the James River in Virginia Colony and in the Commonwealth of Virginia (after statehood) in the United States, from 1646 until 1974. It was known as Nansemond County until 1972. From ...

. He served as an aide-de-camp to General George Washington during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Early life

He was a son of David Meade (1700-1787), who married Susannah Everard, a daughter of

Sir Richard Everard, 4th Baronet Sir Richard Everard (24 June 1683–17 February 1733) was a British soldier and colonial official who served as the fourth governor of North Carolina from 1725 to 1731. Early life and career Everard was born on 24 June 1683 at Langleys, Much ...

, the last Governor of North Carolina under proprietary rule. His great-great-grandfather was

Richard Kidder Richard Kidder (1633–1703) was an English Anglican churchman, Bishop of Bath and Wells, from 1691 to his death. He was a noted theologian. Biography He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he was a sizar, from 1649, graduatin ...

, a noted theologian who was the

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...

. Meade and two of his brothers were educated at Harrow, one of the oldest and most respected schools in England.

Career

In October 1775, Meade was commissioned captain of the 2nd Virginia Regiment. He led a company at the

Battle of Great Bridge The Battle of Great Bridge was fought December 9, 1775, in the area of Great Bridge, Virginia, early in the American Revolutionary War. The victory by colonial Virginia militia forces led to the departure of Royal Governor Lord Dunmore and any r ...

near

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, it is the second-most populous independent city in Virginia, tenth-largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 90th ...

, arguably the first Revolutionary War battle in the state of Virginia. In March 1777, General Washington appointed him one of his aides-de-camps, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Meade was frequently used to deliver important dispatches and orders.

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

did the "head work" for Washington while he did the riding. He was with Washington during all of the major battles between 1777 and 1780, and supervised the execution of Major John Andre. In November 1780, he left Washington's staff to get married for the second time. While in Virginia he aided General von Steuben in repelling an attack of British forces under

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

Personal life

Meade's first wife was Elizabeth Randolph, a daughter of

Richard Randolph Richard Randolph (c.1691 – 1749), also known as Richard Randolph of Curles, was a planter, merchant and politician in colonial Virginia. Richard served as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1727 until his death. Randolph was th ...

, but none of their children survived her. On December 10, 1780, he married his second wife, Mary Grymes Randolph,Slaughter, Philip, ''Memoir of the Life of the Rt. Rev. William Meade'', (Cambridge:John Wilson and Son, 1885

/ref> the widow of William Randolph of Chatsworth, Virginia. They had 4 daughters and 4 sons, including

William Meade William Meade (November 11, 1789March 14, 1862) was an American Episcopal bishop, the third Bishop of Virginia. Early life His father, Colonel Richard Kidder Meade (1746–1805), one of George Washington's aides during the War of Independence, ...

, who became the third Episcopal Bishop of Virginia. His daughter

Ann Randolph Meade Page Ann Randolph Meade Page (December 3, 1781 – March 28, 1838) was an Episcopal slavery reformer. She was raised in her birth family with slaves and her husband was among the largest slaveholders in Frederick County, Virginia. She did not believe in ...

was an Episcopal slavery reformer. He bought a large tract of land in

White Post, Virginia White Post is an unincorporated community in Clarke County, Virginia. White Post is located at the crossroads of White Post Road and Berrys Ferry Road off Lord Fairfax Highway ( U.S. Route 340). In the 1730s, Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Ca ...

in the 1780s, and expanded an existing log cabin into "

Meadea Meadea is a historic home located at White Post, Clarke County, Virginia. It was built prior to 1760 consisting of just two rooms and loft. It had a central stone chimney with two hearths. One hearth was for cooking. The cooking hearth is still ...

." an
''Accompanying photo''
/ref> About 1791, he built the nearby brick house "

Lucky Hit Lucky Hit is one of the oldest brick houses in southwestern Clarke County, Virginia. The double-pile (i.e. two rooms deep), central hallway house was built by Colonel Richard Kidder Meade around 1791, and was named by Meade in his belief that h ...

." Both are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. He died in 1805 apparently from the effects of gout and years of military life.

Richard Kidder Meade Richard Kidder Meade, Jr. (July 29, 1803 – April 20, 1862) was Virginia lawyer, plantation owner and politician who served in the Virginia Senate and in the United States House of Representatives, as well as U.S. minister to Brazil under ...

Jr. (1803-1862), a U.S. Representative from Virginia, was the son of a cousin of the same name, Richard Kidder Meade (1775-1832).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meade, Richard Kidder 1746 births 1805 deaths People educated at Harrow School Continental Army officers from Virginia Aides-de-camp of George Washington People from Clarke County, Virginia Meade family of Virginia People from Nansemond County, Virginia Randolph family of Virginia

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References